- With older kids, read and talk about this St. Bernard of Clairvaux quote using the coloring page. Ask them how they understand Jesus coming in the past, present, and future. Discuss ways to look for Jesus each day and welcome Him as He comes to us in prayer, through the people around us, and especially in the Eucharist at Mass.
- With younger kids, create this Advent accordion storybook. Read it together with them, talking about the meaning of the Season of Advent. Show them that Jesus came at the first Christmas, comes to us each day, and will come again at the end of time.
Thursday, November 30, 2023
The Threefold Coming of the Lord this Advent
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Waiting for Jesus Advent Bulletin Board
The printables for this bulletin board were made in cooperation with Shari Van Vranken of Catholic Paper Goods using artwork from our new book!
It was particularly inspired by these two pages, one with the empty manger and another explaining the custom of lining a manger with straw for Baby Jesus representing our good deeds, prayers, and sacrifices.
I created several sets of letters (using a font Shari designed for the book!) in several different colors (purple, navy, gold, and black) and two different sizes. To simplify sharing them with you, they are all available in this folder:
FYI, I cut all of the letters out for my bulletin board, but you could definitely save time by just cutting a rectangle around each word. You'll have to trim and tape together "heart" but that modification would really speed up putting this bulletin board together!
And to print the manger click here. It it ready to print on two 11x17" pages, then trim and tape to make it around 20x16." I sent it to be printed at my local office store (cost $1) or you can print it on multiple 8.5x11" sheets at home using the "poster" feature in your pdf print settings. The image is black and white line art to save you ink, so you or a kiddo or two can add some color with crayons, colored pencils, or markers!
Sunday, November 26, 2023
December Radiant Roundup: Resources for Advent, Christmas, and December Saints!
Books for Catholic Kids- Advent, Christmas, & Feast Days for December
Check out this list for a huge list of books great for Advent & Christmas, as well as St. Francis Xavier, St. Nicholas, the Immaculate Conception, St. Juan Diego & Our Lady of Guadalupe, Fulton Sheen, St. Lucy, and the Holy Family.
My Book- All about Advent & Christmas: Sharing the Seasons of Hope and Wonder with Children
Advent Prayer Cards for Each Sunday (Year C)*
Advent & Christmas Videos (YouTube Playlist)
Advent Music Playlist (YouTube Playlist)
Advent Today (Youth Group Activity)
New Liturgical Year Resources
The Liturgical Year Coloring Book*
Ideas for Living the Liturgical Year in the Classroom*
Liturgical Year Printable & Colorable Calendar (Review for Telos Art)
Liturgical Year (Feast Day! Board Game Review)
St. Ambrose coloring pages* (all ages)
Sweeter than Honey Psalm coloring pages* (all ages)
Immaculate Conception: December 8th
Immaculate Conception Block Print*
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen: December 9th
Ven. Fulton Sheen Activities* (all ages)
So, SO many activities under that tab!
Our Lady of Loreto: December 10th
Our Lady of Loreto Digital Scavenger Hunt (6th & up)
Juan Diego: December 9th
O Antiphons Printable Coloring Books*
O Antiphons Bible Study & Creative Project (Digital Resources)
Christmas:
Peg Doll Nativity
Animals for a Peg Doll Nativity
Kid Made Peg Doll Nativity
A Stocking for Jesus*
Nativity Photo Booth
Advent & Christmas Videos
And just in case you are working ahead, here are a few resources for Epiphany & The Presentation!
Epiphany: January 6th (observed Sunday, January 7, 2024)
Epiphany Home Blessing Kit* (updated through 2026)
My Gift: An Epiphany Readers' Theater*
Gifts of the Magi Google Classroom Assignment
December Books for Catholic Kids
All Month- The Season of Advent
The Jesse Tree Advent Journal, Lumen Ecclesiae Press
O Come, Emmanuel, Kendra Tierney
The Family of Jesus: A Jesse Tree Scripture Study, Michele Chronister
Joy to the World- Stefanick, Chris
Advent and Christmas One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, Katie Prejean McGrady & Tommy McGrady
Saint Nicholas: God's Gift Giver
12/9- St. Juan Diego
Guess Who's in the Manger: A Christmas Story- Howie, Vickie
Where is the Baby King?- Henning & Atkins
The Cure for the Christmas Crazies- Hartmann, April
A Child's Christmas ABC Book- Thigpen, Paul
A Child's Christmas Counting Book- Thigpen, Paul
Saturday, November 25, 2023
Eucharistic Witnesses: Servant of God Dorothy Day
I'm honored to be contributing to the Heart of the Revival, the newsletter and blog for the National Eucharistic Revival. I've written several articles and created activities for kids (like this Eucharistic Procession, Mass Offering Cards, Pilgrimage Passport, Pope Benedict XVI quotes, Art for Holy Week, and Bl. Carlo Acutis Activities).
I've also been helping with a monthly series called American Eucharistic Witnesses. This collection highlights Americans whose lives have been changed by the gift of the Eucharistic. With a different expert author each month and an original woodcut print by the talented Connor Miller, I've been tasked with creating a version of this series for children. Each booklet contains a shorter bio and the art print on the front and back, and inside has some activities like a quote to color, a timeline to put in order, reflection questions, and short comprehension questions to answer. One booklet is for older children (I'd recommend 5th-8th grade) and another for younger children (I'd recommend 2nd-4th grade). The collection matches in structure and we'll finish the series with a final project to pull all the booklets together.
Servant of God Dorothy Day Biography Activity for Older Kids in English
Servant of God Dorothy Day Biography Activity for Younger Kids in English
Friday, November 10, 2023
Design-an-Advent-Chasuble!
Can you believe that we are only a few short weeks from the start of Advent? One of the first things that kids notice about the changing Liturgical Seasons is the color that their priest is wearing at Mass. Soon his vestments will switch from green to purple (and pink)!
You can print the Advent Chasuble coloring page (linked at the bottom of the post). Have your kids (or you!) design and color a new vestment for the Advent Season using Advent colors and symbols. Then, you can give your chasuble design to your parish priest and tell him how excited you are for Advent!
If you'd like to share your chasuble on Instagram, make sure to tag @katherine.bogner and @catholicpapergoods in your post and we'll share them too!
Click here to print the Advent chasuble pages: